Curiosity
by RandiReckless
Summary: "Curiosity killed the cat." A Crowley/OC story. It's a little odd, but his character is very interesting to me :  Rated M for a reason, and I have no idea when during the actual Supernatural story-line it will take place, so...
1. Chapter 1

Dillan remembered the first time she'd seen him. She had been laying up, as she had refused to take the sleeping pills subscribed. She didn't like how they'd made her feel, and would have rathered have her insomnia keep her up all the time than feel different.

She remembered headlights as they floated through her pink, Disney princess curtains and the curiosity that quickly took over her brain, covering any previous thoughts.

At first, she remembered being too afraid to get out of her bed and walk to the window; but the burning curiosity fought over the fear (as Dillan had always been a curious being, wanting to know everything and determined to find things out if she wished to know about them, as the curiosity would grow until she had sated it properly); and soon her small footfalls could be heard as she went over to the window, looking out to see a man burying something in the middle of the crossroads that her home had been so conveniently placed by.

And, after moments of him being alone, another man seemed to just appear out of no-where. Her voice had come out in a muffled gasp and she pressed herself closer to the window. Something about him had always intrigued here, even then, as her small, round brown eyes looked him up and down. He was maybe 30, in a nice suit and hair that was dark and slicked back. She watched as they talked, and the man kissed the other man, who seemed repulsed and quickly pushed him away before getting back into his car to drive off.

But Dillan kept her eyes on the man, who looked smug through and through as he watched the car drive away, straightening the tie of his suit and, as though feeling eyes on him, his head turned in her direction, causing her to freeze for a moment, not breathing at all before quickly letting the curtain fall back into place and scurrying back to the safety of her bed, hoping he hadn't actually been looking at her.

But she knew that that hope was despondent.

It was always a surprise to her, when a new car may show up after that, and she always tried desperately to get a sneak peak at the man, every night from then on, even as she continued to grow older. He never looked towards her again, and she doubted he even noticed either; if he had, he hadn't ever done anything against it.

As she reached her teens, she found herself becoming brave enough to sleep in the tree house, in order to hear the voice of the mysterious man at the crossroads, and after the first night, that haunted her dreams, more-so than the face that went with it. It sent chills down her spine when she heard it, and she always found herself extremely still, not even attempting to see his face while in the little fort, too afraid of being close enough to hear him that he might hear her if she moved even just a little.

The tree in which she had her fort was just next to the crossroads, so close she could hear every little noise that was made, finding out that the man was a demon named Crowley, and talking of all different things that people would be asking him for: money, power, a girlfriend, a boyfriend. Anything they wished to deal on, each only ever getting ten years in return.

Of course, she didn't always believe that it was true, just grown-ups playing a stupid game, and each time she'd be proven wrong, when witnessing him randomly appearing, and finding nothing that could have helped him pull that off if he were actually human. As well as him always looking exactly the same as he always had.

Now, Dillan was a naturally curious girl. And, as she got older, the voice and the face separately weren't enough. And during one of his many encounters, she found herself quietly sneaking across the old wood of the tree-house, peering out of one of its many cracks to watch as the interaction went down; she hoped desperately that their voices would cover any sound that she may make.

It was another woman, asking for the man she loved to love her back, and Dillan wanted to scoff at the stupidity of it all. Why someone would wish for someone to love them seemed as though it were stupid. Forcing someone to love wasn't worth it, not if you actually loved them.

In her eyes anyway.

As the kiss was shared that, she assumed, sealed any deal one wanted to make, she found herself grimacing, as she always did, watching him kiss someone else. It was a weird bout of almost… Possession, that passed her, not that she'd ever admit it, as she'd never actually talked to him, though she felt she knew him; his dark hair and eyes, body clad in a suit and that thick Scottish accent that always seemed to find some sort of smart-ass remark to his more…dense clients.

She let out a breath softly upon thinking about it and then instantly froze; eyes widening, looking at the interaction and almost letting out another sigh of relief upon seeing that it didn't seem to be too loud, as the demon was merely standing there, watching as the person in the car walked away.

And, as always, he disappeared just as the car was gone over the horizon. Dillon was going to wait just a few more moments before going to head back to the house, when suddenly a voice from behind her asked, "Don't you ever get bored?"  
>_<p>

_**Sooo, here's my new idea... haha, this guy just makes me smile. He's smart-ass and awesome, and so yea XP. I dont find him particularly attractive, but his character intrigues me to no end. So yea, I hope you like this :) and Scottish accents are sexy ;) haha, so yea**_


	2. Chapter 2

She felt like a deer caught in headlights, as she turned, eyes widening at seeing the demon she had watched from afar for so many years standing right there, leaning against the wall just across the way from her; his arms were crossed, and his dark eyes were looking her up and down.

Her hair reminded him of red velvet, and her chocolate eyes held a mixture of fear and interest that caused confusion to file through, though he didn't show it, merely cocked his head to the side, raising his brow as he waited for the small girl to answer.

"What? Cat got your tongue?" He advanced on her, just a few steps away from the wall, and his eyes held a look of mocking that caused her to purse her lips, to stand a little taller.

"No, I-I," her voice stuttered a little, despite herself and she took a deep breath, but the daring aura that had settled after his first witty remark flared up; not even that covered the fear that still filled the eyes that watched him closely, wary of every move he made, "I'm just surprised…"

"Well you had to know that I know; you're not a very sneaky little thing." Dillan looked away, biting her lip. Of course she'd known, she just hadn't wanted to believe it; she wanted to believe that she was safely being sneaky. "And I'll let you know, I don't particularly like snoops. I tolerated it when you were younger, but now you're grown, and I won't very well tolerate it anymore."

"I… I'm sorry…" he observed as she inched towards the exit, her hands groping the wood behind her as if trying to determine where exactly she was. "I was just…curious…"

"Curiosity killed the cat."

"Good thing I'm not a cat."

He found it amusing; she was able to crack a joke, even through her fear. She knew what he was capable of, and she was still able to be equally as witty as he was. That made him smile.

That wasn't what she was expecting, and it made her freeze in her spot, almost scaring her more than his actual presence.

"How you crack jokes, when I could kill you on the spot, amusing," was what he mustered up to say, his voice almost sinister as he stepped towards her once more, liking the intimidation that was evident in her stature, even while it was obvious she was trying to push the fear down.

"You aren't going to kill me…" She tried to sound sure, slowly inching away once more, again towards the exit, causing his smirk to broaden, his eyes screaming 'Oh really?' "How does it work? Do…do you really give them what they want in exchange for their souls…?"

He raised his brow, taking another step towards her, "Why? You interested?"

"No!"

It came out to fast, her voice full of haste, and she almost seemed appalled at the idea of making a deal with him, her brown eyes wide and her head furiously shaking back and forth as her cheeks turned almost the same color red as her hair.

"I mean… not that I have any problem with it, I just…" she bit her lip, shaking her head. "I mean, there's nothing wrong with it, except, I just… I don't find the idea of selling my soul appealing, especially not when I'm pretty sure you don't put it any place nice, and selling your soul… so that's just…that's stupid and… Not that your job is stupid, but… I'm… can I Just… and we pretend this never happened…?"

She had inched more towards the exit, her foot right by the opening, and he was suddenly in front of her, arms on both sides of her, and she froze at the sudden close proximity.

"See, I would allow that," he leaned dangerously close, eyes shining as he glowered down at her, her heart all but stopping at being so close to the man she had watched from afar being so close, "but then I wouldn't be doing my job correctly. So, you will listen and listen close: You will stop watching me, pretend that everything you've seen has been just one messed up dream. I do not exist and neither do my deals. If I catch you watching once more, you will regret it."

Dillan nodded almost frantically once more, heart pounding so loud she was sure he could hear it, and she had to clench her fists to keep them from trembling.

"Good, now go."

And he was gone as well, leaving her there, all but panting for breath before she quickly scurried down the ladder and into her house. She hurried as quickly as she could, slamming the door and then hurrying up to her room, slamming that door shut as well. Leaning against it, she put a hand against her chest softly.

And her heart continued to race, keeping her up and thinking about the demon all night long.

_**So yea :D here's the second chapter! I hope you all like it:D Crowley died in the last episode I watched D: I would be more upset, but I already know that Castiel had helped him fake his death (I'm only on S.6 so far… I don't like this season too much, but oh well… So yea! Anyway, let me know what you guys think about it up to this point and just.. yea :) 3 you all**_


	3. Chapter 3

Now naturally Dillan is one to listen when threatened.

But she couldn't help to continue watching; she never made the mistake to actually go back outside to the tree-house, however. She stuck to her room, catching random glances when she could.

And she also began to research. She may have been a curious creature, but she wasn't stupid, and the moment he'd threatened her, the human need of self-preservation kicked in. She had no idea what had been true about what she'd found herself reading, as much of it seemed to be over-advertised crap. But she did take precautions; she kept a bottle of holy water on her desk, and every night she decided to spy, she kept lines of the holy water at each entrance, as well as holding a jar of salt each time she watched him.

She found that to be particularly ridiculous, the thought of something as stupid and simple as salt being able to ward it off, but again: the need for self-preservation allowed her to attempt anything that may protect her and her mom from what she knew for a fact was lurking out in the dark.

"Dil! Honey?" Dillan looked towards the entrance to her room and saw her mom's head peeking in. Her brown hair was pulled up high and jade eyes looked at her with a certain form of love. "I've been called into work, I'll probably be late… Make sure you take your medicine, you need your sleep, and if you sleep in half the day again, I might just have to start putting it in your food like I did when you were younger."

Dillan rolled her eyes softly, a small smile quirking across her face as she looked back at her book. "Okay, Mom."

"Promise?"

The testy note in her mom's voice made her chuckle softly, nodding her head and giving her mom a reassuring look, "I promise, now please stop worrying, I'll take my medicine."

Dillan's mom walked over, pulling her into a hug and kissing the top of her head, "You better not be lying to me…" And she ran a hand through the red velvet hair atop her daughter's head. "See you in the morning."

"Night mom."

And then her mom left, shutting the door behind her, and Dillan sighed, stretching her arms to the ceiling and then running a hand through her hair as well, standing and heading towards the window. She pushed the silken lavender curtains back and looking down, watching as her mother pulled from the driveway and away from the house, watching until the headlights had disappeared into the night.

And then she hurried down the stairs. The first thing she collected was the jar of salt that she'd hidden (in the top shelf of the pantry, a place she knew her mother would never look), and her finger's brushed across something else, with which she pulled down, as well as the salt. Looking over the object as she headed back towards her room, she saw that it was an old journal, held shut by a purple ribbon and scrawled across the front, in the neat handwriting she recognized as her mother's was _"Jason Christopher Wright"._

"Hm…"

She set it down, along with the jar of salt, on the seat of her window, and hurried to get ready for bed. She threw on a pair of plaid pajama bottoms and black tank top, pulling her hair up high and brushing her teeth. Her brown eyes wandered for a moment, landing on the small orange bottle.

_**Rohypnol**_.

She rinsed her mouth and picked it up, peering out towards her room before looking back at it once more, before sighing and placing it back down. She knew that she should take it, but she just couldn't.

So she forced herself away, flicking off the switch of the light and shutting the door behind her and heading back to the window seat, picking up the holy water on her way.

Setting up everything the way she had it every night, she then picked up the book, running her fingers softly over the old leather and under the soft ribbon before slowly tugging the bow and flipping open the cover page.

Her eyebrows knitted together as she flipped through the pages; some of the random scribble inside made absolutely no sense to her, as well as the drawings. There were many different drawings of monsters and symbols that confused her to no end, but among all of the chaos, her eyes ran across the word 'demon', causing her to stop; her eyes scanned the page.

_Demon possession is common. __**Random scribbles**__. Line every entrance with salt (or make a circle of salt –this also works with ghosts) ; always have Holy Water__**. Random Scribbles**__._

'Is that Latin…?' 

Her fingers ran over the words towards the bottom of the page, cocking her head to the side. As she read it over, she tried to remember what little she had learned Freshman year, before she'd become so frustrated in trying to learn it that she had transferred to German.

"Mom was right…"

And that's when the glare of headlights shone through the window. Her eyes flickered out, watching as the car pulled up to the crossroads. Her heart thumped in her chest as she leaned closer, trying to make out the form of the vehicle, as she always did, hoping it would tell her something about the person inside.

And when she realized what it was, she felt her heart pound even harder against her chest.

"No…"

Instantly, she rushed to her feet, hurrying out of her room and out of the house, towards the beat up pick-up that she recognized to be too familiar to be a coincidence.

"Jon!"

The blonde mop of her friend twisted in the direction of the yell, and the man who bore the hair so bright you could see it in the dark almost tensed upon recognizing the voice, standing quickly and stepping in front of where she had just witnessed him digging.

"Dil… hey…" the man shifted awkwardly, his blue eyes, she noted, where almost panicked. "Uh… I was just… well…"

"I don't care, Jon."

She hurried around him, eyes quickly scanning for Crowley as she dug back up the box, grabbed her friends arm and hurried back towards the house. Locking the door behind her, she quickly instructed her friend to go to the living room as she shoved the box into his hands and hurried to her room. She grabbed the jar of salt and, as the book she had read instructed, rushed to put a quick line at every entrance possible into the house, looking out every window.

The fact that she saw nothing made her more unnerved. Watching him had been bad enough; stealing one of his customers?

There is no way the demon would be too happy with that.

"Dillan, what are you doing?"

Dillan jumped, her eyes looking and finding Jon standing behind her as she finished off the last of the entrances; she set down the jar and walked up, punching him in the face as hard as she could.

"What the fuck?!"

"What do you think you're doing, Jon!" Dillan yelled, her brown eyes looking at him furiously, making her displeasure clearly known. "Making a deal with a demon, how stupid are you?! Really, your life can't be that bad that you need to sink that low! Do you even know how that works?! He gets your _soul_, Jon! NOTHING is worth that!"

He looked so confused at that point that Dillan would have normally laughed at how much like a puppy he was.

"Wait… they're real?" he ran a hand through his hair, looking back out the window with an almost worried look on his face. She also peeked back towards the window, letting out a shaky breath at still seeing nothing. "The deals? And the demons…? But…"

"I've seen it, Jon… I've been watching it since I was little, and it's just… it's not worth it, I don't care what you think is important enough to sell your soul for, trust me, it's not…" she touched her friend's shoulder softly, nibbling her lips softly. "Seriously… You have wonderful parents and a lovely girlfriend, and-"

"Anna broke up with me…"

Dillan examined his face, noting the saddened undertone in his eyes that she hadn't before and she sighed softly, pulling him into a hug, knowing how it would hurt him. Anna and him had been together almost forever, and had seemed perfect; it even hurt her to know this had happened.

"I'm sorry…" she whispered, rubbing his back. "But it's not worth your soul, Jon…" And she led him towards the living room. "Now, you're staying here tonight, okay? It's not safe to go out there…" Jon nodded softly and sighed, leaning back against the couch and closing his eyes.

Dillan sighed one more time upon the almost deflated look that had crossed his face, wanting to cry but knowing she'd done the right thing. She'd help him get over it, without him losing his soul to Crowley.

_Crowley…_

She let out another shaky breath, looking towards the window. Nothing was out there still, but she knew that it was never too late; Crowley had to know that she'd full on interfered, instead of just watching. And she knew that he'd get back for it.

Shaking her head as Jon called for her attention, looking towards him once more and sitting down beside him, turning on the television and watching with him until he fell asleep.

But she was up all night once more, her foot bouncing up and down; totally afraid of what was to come, knowing her mom would never allow the salt to stay around the house forever.

And she knew that when it was gone, nothing good would follow.

_**Rohypnol**__ is a drug used to help people with insomnia sleep. So, in case you haven't figured out, Dillan has insomnia *nod*. So yea, also, I hope you like this chapter, because yea… And so… Yea, haha, let me know what ya'all think? Reviews make a happy writer, and a happy writer means faster updates :), ps. Thanks to those of you that have reviewed! :D, makes me soo happy to read that you like it, and I would fully welcome constructive criticism, I love to know where I can do better, just don't be TOO harsh. Haha :) Lots of Love_


	4. Chapter 4

"Jon… Jon wake up…"

Dillan pushed at her friend's shoulder as she glanced once again at the clock on the wall; _6:03 A.M_. She looked back at him, pursing her lips and shaking him harder, hoping to grip him from his slumber quickly.

"Come on, Jon!" she all but screeched into his ear, and this jolted him awake, his deep blue eyes looking lazily in her direction once he realized what was going on, and that he was in no immediate danger. "You have to wake up, we have to clean up all the salt before my mom gets home, or she'll flip!"

Jon groaned softly and Dillan sighed, standing and pulling him with her, pulling him to the supply closet, ignoring his groan of, "Oh come on, Dillan, it's still bed time…" Though he didn't do much to fight his being dragged, only actually reacting to the world around him as the door to the supply closet slammed against the wall, which caused the still partially asleep boy to cringe.

Dillan almost began feeling sorry for him, but then remembered that it was his own fault; he was the one that had tried to sell his soul, causing the need for the salt at each entrance in the first place.

"Just, please, stop complaining and help," She handed him a vacuum duster, grabbing herself just the normal vacuum before instructing him to go and get as much of the salt up as he could.

It was a stupid idea, getting rid of their only possible protection, but she knew that her mom would be likely to throw a fit if she were to see the seemingly unneeded use of salt at every last nook and cranny of the house. And, as she believed her mom was more likely to show up before Crowley, she was more afraid of said mom.

She found herself wondering if Crowley would come, even with her mom around, and bit her lip, hoping with all hope that he wouldn't - she'd rather deal with him herself than put her mother in danger with the demon.

She quickly expelled the thoughts of Crowley hurting her mom, any thoughts of Crowley at all, and forced herself to get to work. This job proved to be a lot easier with two people than if she'd been forced to do it by herself, but it was just barely done quickly enough. As soon as she'd shut the door to the closet was when the door to the house opened and her mother stepped inside.

"Dillan?" she sounded shocked and accusatory, concerned eyes scanning over her daughter with the silent question of 'Why are you up? Didn't I tell you to take your medicine and sleep?', and Dillan bit her lip.

"Oh, hi, mom," she smiled softly and warily, trying to reassure her mom that everything was fine. "Uhm, I was just…getting another blanket, Jon stole mine…and I got cold, so-"

"Jon?"

"Oh…yea, sorry, I know I didn't ask first, but after you left, he showed up, and he was just…" she bit her lip and then sighed softly, going with the part of the truth she could tell, "Anna broke up with him, and he was so heartbroken, I just… I couldn't let him be alone… Are you mad…?"

She tried to look innocent, as though that were the whole truth instead of only part of it, under the intensely scrutinizing gaze of her mother. And for a moment, she was afraid it didn't work.

But then her mom smiled softly, eyes tired and she shook her head, "No, honey, I'm not mad, just as long as you two kept your rightful distance..."

Dillan laughed, almost letting her relief seep through at that being her mother's only concern, even knowing that her mom knew better when it came to Jon, as they had had many sleepovers over the years and proved that they didn't have any attraction to each other than pure friendship, "Well obviously not. So, I'm just gonna get that blanket and… Would you like something before you…?"

"Oh, no, that's fine, go back and get some sleep, hang out with Jon," she was cut off by her mother, who gave her one more stern look upon mentioning sleep, before heading past her, stopping only to kiss her forehead before going into her room.

Dillan let out a soft breath, opening the closet and grabbing two blankets (one for herself and one for Jon, who, she realized, actually didn't have one either) before heading back to the living room.

"Hey, Jon, are you-" She stopped dead in her tracks, eyes landing on the one person she'd been hoping not to come in contact with.

Crowley sat in a chair next to the couch (where Jon lay fast asleep, seemingly fine, but Dillan still felt her heart clench with worry) and his eyes were on her, filled with pure anger that contrasted mildly with the broad smirk that was formed on his lips.

"I'm assuming that charming young man is the one who called for me?" He nodded towards Jon. "Jonathon Adams… Such a ripe soul…"

His voice held a tone that made her blood run cold as she took and she instinctively took a step back as he stood.

"Nice little trick, by the way, with the salt, where did you learn that?" he nodded towards one of the windows, where the now rising sun glinted on a forgotten line of salt, one she believed must have been missed in her haste and Jon purely had thought she'd get.

"A book." Her voice came out as a meek whisper, and she cursed in her head, forcing herself to stand taller, as if that would make up for her weak voice, trying to look unafraid.

"I see, must have been a nice book," he nodded, his eyes wondering around, seeming as though he was uninterested in anything else but the house, "And what kind of book," before she could even blink, he was in front of her, hand around her neck tightly, "taught you that it was okay to disobey a direct order. And, better yet, interfere with one's business?"

"I… He's my friend, I couldn't let him-"

"Let me guess, he's a good person, and he has a good soul and _blah, blah, blah_," Crowley rolled his eyes, fingers twitching around her neck, and her heart pounded, afraid that he would just snap her neck, but forcing herself to appear as though she wasn't bothered. "I remember telling you to pretend that I don't exist. Nothing that happens on that crossroads at night is any of your business. So you have _thirty seconds_ to convince me not to kill you. And talk fast, sweetheart, I'm not normally even this generous."

Dillan could hear her heart in her head, racing so fast, so loud, that she feared he would hear it. Her thoughts were scrambled, anything intelligent slipping away before she even had the time to process it.

But, just as he began to mockingly count down her seconds, she burst out with a, "My mom!" He looked at her, only mild interest on his face, and she bit down so hard on her lip, she was afraid it was going to begin bleeding, before she let out another, cursedly shaking breath and continued. "She… She knows. About demons, about you. She… She would come after you, if you killed me, she'd know-"

"You're lying through her teeth," he seemed amused, his eyes twinkling with the mocking laughter he held in, and she pursed her lips, glaring up at him as if to ask how he was so sure. "You see, because I'm one to keep an eye on my surroundings, I know everything that you know and everything your mother knows. She knows nothing about my existence, so you'll have to try better than that. And, even if it were true, she's upstairs asleep, I could easily kill her in her sleep. It would be especially easy, knowing you're pulling all of that out of your ass."

"I am n-"

"You can't lie to the king of lies, love," his grip around her throat only slightly, finding himself more amused with her alive than he'd imagined.

"Fine, I'm lying, but that doesn't mean I can't scream loud enough to wake her right up," she said quietly, biting her lip, glancing towards the window as she spoke, her eyes measuring the distance between her and the salt.

"Not smart," He warned, his grip tightening once more and she took in a short breath, her eyes looking away from the window and back up at his dark eyes as they glared menacingly down at her. Biting her lip harshly, she took in another, deep breath, before bringing up her knee, hitting where it would hurt any man, and he groaned, releasing her just briefly enough for her to pull away, heading to the window and grabbing a handful of the salt, chucking it at the demon as he stood up straight and began towards her.

His walking staggered for just a moment and he let out a growl as the salt came in contact with his bare skin. She grimaced softly upon seeing the welted burn marks left behind, looking as though someone had thrown fire at him instead of salt and, as his eyes looked back at her, she bit her lip, watching his face closely. The anger filed through, as well as an undertone of amusement, as his skin loosely knitted itself back together, healing.

"You're either very stupid, or you have a death wish," he advanced on her as he spoke these words, seemingly wiping away at any salt that may be left on him, though his eyes didn't leave her. Her hands blindly groped the window sill for more salt, when suddenly he was in front of her once more, gripping tightly onto her arms and pulling them between the two. "I don't think so, darling. Playtimes over, and I still have no good reason to keep you alive."

"I don't suppose goodness of your heart would be a good alternative," her voice was tentative and it came out with little fight left, his close proximity and grip on her arms, one so tight she knew there would be bruises, she heard her heart pounding in her ears so loudly she was glad she could barely hear the words leave her mouth, knowing it sounded stupid. But before he could tell her such, she opened her mouth again. "Or, you would miss me."

His eyes flooded with incredulousness once again, but also held a higher degree of amusement than it held anger anymore.

"I mean, if you really hated me watching, you'd have killed me long ago, as I highly doubt my being a little kid would have stopped you, and-and you _obviously_ must know that I never actually stopped, even when you told me to, an-and obviously, you easily could have if you _really_ wanted… And…and.. Can you stop touching me?"

The sudden outburst brought a smirk to the demon's face and she felt his eyes on her as she tried to pry her arms away from him, "You truly are stupid, aren't you?"

Her face grew angry at his statement, but she merely pursed her lips, still trying to wretch her arms away, knowing she'd found her argument, "If you really wanted me dead, I wouldn't be able to ramble, I'd already be a pile on the floor. Wouldn't I?"

"I don't like your tone."

"Wouldn't I?" she demanded once more, looking up at him, forcing her anger down as to not want to give him the satisfaction, but instead making her eyes amused, smirking lightly, knowing it was dangerous territory but also not being able to stop.

He glared for a long moment before shoving her harshly away from him and into the window, so hard she was amazed it didn't break on impact; and, in the blink of an eye, he was gone from the room.

She barely had time to take a deep breath, her mind trying to figure out what had just happened, when a groaning came from the couch, followed by a sleepy, "Geesh, Dil, what's with all the nosie?"

_**Hehe :) I hope you all like it! It's ACTUALLY relatively longer than the last chapters (typing it in word, it is a little over four pages, where the last few have been maybe two-three, so yea) :), I actually enjoyed writing this chapter, and I hope that you guys enjoy reading it! :D I would appreciate being told ;) but yea, thank you so much to those of you who have been reviewing! It makes me happy, and a happy writer is always a good thing :). So yea**_

_**Anyway, thoughts?**_

_**Haha :) 3**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**Ahhhhh, Chapters are gone! –flails- Yes, sorry, Hello, loves3 have you missed me? Cuz I've missed all of you, and I'm terribly sorry for my absence. The last few months have been terribly rough, and some things still aren't quite out of the water, but this time, I swear to you that I am back, and I plan on getting updates done now that I've fully decided what I wish to do with this story once more.  
>At the beginning, I was just going to completely scratch it, and perhaps start over (advised against by one of my favorite readersreviewers, but still something I kept thinking about). Reading over my first few chapters, however, I realized that I was extremely happy with them. I liked how I had it started; it was just the newer chapters that were causing me to be upset, as that was when things started becoming rocky in the first place and my writing quality seemed to go to crap, so many repetitive statements and such… And the plot with the Winchesters? Yea, not supposed to start yet.  
>And so, I'm starting from chapter five, and there is only one minor change you all need to know about: The journal is no longer going to be her mothers. Instead, I have changed to being her father's, as it makes more sense with what I plan on doing as I move this story on. How I had it, though I may have made it make like it made sense, truly didn't when it came down to the point. Otherwise, this chapter is neutrally the same {with a different ending, however, because I'm unhappy with where I placed the disappearance of the journal as well}, and I'm starting a-new from here. The next… one or two chapters MAY be relatively similar, but I will be going through them and going over details, so they will be back up, changes and all, within the next day or two, and then everything will be back on track fully.<br>And also? Thanks to everyone for your wonderful reviews, even in my absence, and I'm so sorry for keeping you waiting. If you wish to read the changes within this chapter (it does have its differences, but the core is the same as it was before), and I will see you when I update next, which WILL be soon –hugs-.**_

"_Sick bastards, those demons._

_If I could do more than send them back to hell, I would. They deserve so much more than whatever they experience there, and to say that torturing them didn't give me a certain pleasure would be lying._

_They deserve a taste of their own medicine, deserve to feel even a fraction of what they dish out to their victims. This one, he was even worse, possessing that poor man, tossing his body around just so that when he was finally exorcised, the body would fall limp and dead the instant his presence was no longer there._

_And what he did to his victims-"_

"Dillan!"

Dillan jumped at the sound of her mother's voice yelling her name, quickly shutting the book and shoving it under her pillow, just in time to for her door to open and her mother to peek her head in.

"Dillan, darling, have you seen the salt?"

Dillan all but froze, taking in a sharp breath before turning towards her mother, putting on a false thinking face and biting her lip. Her mind quickly began to form a lie to tell the woman in the doorway.

"Uh… Yea…" she stood, heading over to her dresser and seeming to act as though she was looking around before slowly picking it up from where she had placed it earlier while cleaning and walking over to her mother. "I was… trying to make something earlier, sorry, I forgot to bring it back down."

"Oh, that's fine.." She trailed off, and Dillan followed the line of sight to her wrists as well, biting her lip as she saw hand-shaped bruise marks around them, a deep, sick purple-blue-black color. The image of Crowley so close, gripping her ran through her mind and she felt her heart began to pound in her chest as she remembered the encounter that seemed to have happened so long ago, though she knew it had only been that morning. Her mother's voice tore her from the memory, voice demanding as she spoke. "What happened to your arms, Dillan?"

Her eyes then moved up to see her mother's as she attempted to think of an excuse. Truthfully, she hadn't even thought about it, her mind having been too clouded with the encounter as a whole to be focused too much on the small details. She stammered out an, "I-I don't know…"

"Did Jon-"

"Mom, no!" she burst out laughing before her mother could even finish the sentence, a smile gracing her face and she turned to show the humor of that thought to her mother as she plopped down on the bed. The nearest jump, of course her mother would take that. That is the only person she'd seen in the last twenty four hours, to the older woman's knowledge. "You know if he'd hurt me, I could throw it back twice as hard. Besides, his dad would kill him before I even got the chance to touch him if he laid his fingers on a woman."

"Then how did they get there, Dillan?" her voice was concerned, setting the salt back down as she headed over and sat down next to her daughter, looking between the bruises and Dillan's face, and Dillan bit her lip, instantly feeling bad about lying, but knowing she couldn't tell her mom.

It would sound crazy to her mother, no matter if she'd read through the book she had hidden of her father's. A demon who gave people things in return for collecting their souls in ten years after she'd gotten it? No matter how much evidence she could pull, it sounded insane, even to her.

"I really don't remember, Mom, maybe I did something in my sleep again… I mean, Jon was out long before me, I could have easily sleep-walked and done something stupid again…" Dillan shrugged softly, turning and moving to check on the meat. "I'm really fine, though. They don't hurt or anything, I swear."

"You'd tell me otherwise, right?"

Dillan bit her lip at the sound of her mom's voice and looked at her through a thin curtain of her hair. It hurt to know that she was lying, but she just couldn't tell her, especially not if the stuff in the book was true, so she just nodded, smiling reassuringly and saying, "Yea, I would, I promise."

Her mom watched her for a few moments and Dillan could instantly tell that her mother knew she was lying. But, instead of trying to argue, she just gave a sigh and stood, placing a soft kiss on her daughter's temple and going to leave the room before turning back and saying, "Hey, would you mind going and getting a few things from the market for me?"

Dillan looked at her for a moment before smiling and shaking her head, "I would love to."

And she stood, heading out of her room after her mother, scurrying down the stairs as though it were a race. Her mother followed suit, hopping the last two and giving her daughter a teasing smile, stating "I win," as she walked to grab the slip.

Dillan just rolled her eyes, giggling a bit as she walked to slip on her shoes; she turned just as her mother reached her, holding out her slip. Grinning, she said her goodbyes, placing a soft kiss on her mother's cheek and then heading out the door.

Twirling the key ring around her finger, she approached the vehicle – an older truck with slightly rusted paint and the original upholstery inside. It was sometimes difficult, but he enjoyed it too much to care – it was one of the only things left around that had belonged to her father, and she loved it.

As she pulled away from the house, she found her mind wandering back to the notebook. She had almost forgotten what her father's handwriting looked like, he'd died when she was so young. But it was the content that truly interested her, and she quickly found the curiosity itching at the back of her brain. She figured her mother knew the book had been placed there – somewhere that was unlikely for Dillan to look, considering there wasn't anything she'd wanted up there until just earlier. And so, that made her wonder if her mother knew the contents and, better yet, if her mother believed in all of that as well. It would make things so much easier, and she quickly found herself wishing to ask. To find out if her mother actually knew all about the demon's; and if that was true, than how much of the other stuff in there was true, about all the ghosts and other monster's she'd read about thus far.

And, if her mother knew about it and believed, then did she know about Crowley?

_Crowley. _Dillan sighed.

She knew she'd pressed her luck that morning; she'd been lucky to get out with just the bruises around her wrists, was amazed that he'd let her get away with just that.

Had she been right? That he'd miss her if she were gone, miss feeling her eyes on him, knowing that someone was there…

She highly doubted that.

So she was left wondering why he'd left her alive. There had to be a reason; there was always a reason for what happened, and the itching grew more and more, wondering why she wasn't a lump about to be placed in a hole while people cried over her rotting corpse.

"So frustrating," she finally let out, running a hand through her hair yet keeping the other firmly in place on the steering wheel. The curiosity whirled through her, asking so many questions as to why she was alive and what the book meant was truly becoming frustrating. She found herself so lost in thought that any further movement but what she was seeing out the windshield was a surprise; the appearance of a figure in her peripherals caused her to jerk back to reality fully, an involuntary scream leaping from behind her parted lips as she turned, amazed that the truck didn't turn over at the abrupt movement. 

"Well, darling, I think I am feelin' a bit lucky at not killing you this morning, you got quite the pipes when you want to."

Her hands shook against the steering wheel, palms sweaty and breath coming in short gasps, closing her eyes tightly for a few moments before turning them to the demon, who was smirking at her from the passenger side. He had an air about him that fit him to the scenery, despite how odd he truly looked in his ever professional garb, reclined against the worn down seats.

"Are you trying to get me killed?!" she had yelled before she could stop and think about what she was asking. Upon realizing her words, however, she shook her head and looked away from the demon, letting her eyes slide closed once more. After a deep breath, she held up her hand in case he'd been ready to speak, cutting of anything he might say with a, "Don't answer that. Instead, tell me why you're in my truck. Don't you have better things to do than stalk little girls?"

"Ah, a joker now are we?" his voice came out smooth as butter, as though he wasn't the least bit insulted, though most people would have been. "Actually, no, I happened to be examining a little closer earlier, and noticed a little book in your hands," Dillan froze at his words and a smirk graced his face, "Ah, you're familiar with what I'm talking about then? Well imagine my surprise when I find out that some worthless little human, completely oblivious to all knowledge of demons other than myself, has her hands on a hunter's journal. Where did it come from?"

"That's not your business, it's mine," she let out bravely, her voice only showing a small amount of fear, in knowing that he most likely wouldn't kill her. But there was still that percent that wasn't so sure, thinking that maybe earlier that morning had been a mere fluke. And then what he said fully sunk in and she turned her head to him, cocking it to the side. "Wait… a hunter's journal?"

"That little leather notebook you have in your possession? Yes, that's what it's called, and whoever you got it from is exactly what the journal's name indicates, now where did you get it?" 

His voice was deadly calm and Dillan didn't like it, so she trained her eyes on the road ahead, trying to memorize each thing outside her window with great accuracy; the grass, the trees, how the sun-light made everything seem to shine bright and warm, even though inside the truck it just felt cold and dark.

"None of your business, you can't have it."

"What?" he almost seemed appalled that she had the nerve to say no to him, an even deadlier edge to his voice than when he'd made the demand, and Dillan took in a breath.

"I said you can't have it, it's not mine and I'm not just going to up and hand it away like it's nothing. Besides, it could come in handy-"

"Oh, you mean like it did with that little salt trick? Let me tell you, I doubt there are nearly enough things in there that could help you actually pose any threat to me, girl. I'm still the stronger one here, and if you don't give me that book, then you're going to fry. If you do, I think we can just forget everything that's happened in the last twenty-four hours and call it even."

"You're threats are becoming very empty, Crowley, I think you need to think of a new game, you haven't killed me yet, and if you really wanted that book, or journal or whatever, you could have easily gotten it from me earlier, so I really don't see the point in this conversation," she was amazed at what was coming out of her mouth, couldn't believe that she even had the courage to _open_ her mouth, but she kept on. "I mean, I couldn't have stopped you from taking it, since you _are_ the more powerful one. And saying you're going to kill me if I don't give it to you is a moot point, because you see, I'm still breathing and moving, still very much alive and healthy. So I don't believe for one minute that you'd kill me, no matter how many times you tell me you're going to, because if you _really_ wanted to-"

"Shut up!" Dillan instantly froze, whether it be from the anger in his tone or the shock finally catching up with her at what she'd let pass her lips, she didn't know. "You are a really annoying human being, and the only reason I kept you alive was to find out what you meant by book. Now that I know where and what it is, I have no use for you. I am doing you a great favor –one you do not deserve- so you better watch your tone with me, or next time it won't just be an empty threat."

And then he was gone.

Her heart thrummed in her ears as she stared where he'd been. Another threat, and not one that went unheard. A part of her still wished to believe that he wouldn't kill her, but the seriousness in his tone had shaken her straight to the core. Taking in a slow, careful breath, she shook away the foreboding feeling and began to drive again, her eyes focused straight ahead, her hand still holding on tighter than necessary to the steering wheel and trying to banish all thoughts from her head. That didn't keep the curiosity from seeping in, however. She began to wonder what Crowley meant by 'hunters', and what that may mean about her father and who he had been, and if her mother knew. So many questions, and hardly any answers, something she hated almost more than anything.

When she finally got back from getting everything she needed, she was still shaking. She gave her mother some half-ass excuse about not feeling well and went straight up to her room, after assuring her mom that she just needed some rest and would be fine.

And, as she plopped onto her bed, she slipped her hand under the pillow, groping to feel the old leather of the journal, hoping for it to still be there, as she was sure that what was in it was actually real. Pulling it from its poor excuse of a hiding place, she held it close, knuckles white around the sides to assure her that it was real.

And it was, making the whole experience that much more terrifying.


End file.
